as in womanizing
formal + disapproving
to have sexual intercourse
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Recent Examples of fornicating
These are unhappy hedonists, boozing and fornicating for lack of fulfillment.
—
Dan Stahl, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026
Dan Stahl, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fornicating
Verb
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The writer reckons with the charismatic, philandering father who tried to mold his son in his image.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Mar. 2026
-
Released in 1958, Attack told of a wealthy heiress, fresh from a stint at a mental institution, who is turned into a giantess and then deals with her philandering husband and his no-good, money-grubbing floozy.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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And finally, wouldn’t being near-perfectly still for an hour make a pair of copulating octopuses ridiculously exposed to predators?—
Jacek Krywko,
ArsTechnica,
2 Apr. 2026
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After copulating, the two males lay immobile on the seafloor as the female swam away.—
Jack Guy,
CNN Money,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The population of coyotes doubles in Cook County during mating and whelping season, research shows.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
29 Mar. 2026
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Males die within months after mating while female giant Pacific octopuses lay tens of thousands of eggs and then enter senescence, caring and protecting the eggs until death.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Zeus did not approve of his daughter fooling around with this mortal roughneck hunter and put out a hit on Orion.—
Mike Lynch,
Twin Cities,
8 Mar. 2026
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The transition was rough for Ansari, who wasn’t fluent in English and often got in trouble for fooling around in school.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fornicating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fornicating. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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